IMPLEMENTATION AND DESIGN OF A

COMPUTERIZED MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM (WEB AND MOBILE APPLICATION)

BY

Mohamed Amara

REGISTRATION NUMBER (37243)

B.Eng. in Mechanical & Maintenance Engineering

Fourah Bay College

University of Sierra Leone

November 2021

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A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL
AND MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT, FOURAH BAY COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF
SIERRA LEONE, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING HONOURS (MECHANICAL
AND MAINTENANCE OPTION) 2020/2021 ACADEMIC YEAR.

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 Abstract
The implementation of the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) aims at
revolutionizing the way we think about maintenance. The CMMS system will act as a liaison
between technicians, field operators, maintenance engineering, and possibly even the head of the
company. The beauty of CMMS is that maintenance is tracked before machine breakdowns when
it breaks down and with every step taken to repair the machine, CMMS ensures accountability in
the workplace. A great tool like CMMS should not only benefit Hospitals or Large companies,
this power can be leveraged by anyone involved in maintenance.

Power Company loses millions of dollars per hour of downtime Charlotte Mini–Hydro Company
in Sierra Leone for instance Loses 36 Million Leones a day to downtime. Inadequate
maintenance has become one of the most faced issues by companies in developing countries. It is
about time that companies in developing countries leverage the power of technology to solve
problems that arise from poor maintenance strategies

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 DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to my beloved nation in hopes that something can be learned from this
thesis. To my beloved father Musa Imam Amara, mother Gladys Amara, and the rest of my
family.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate All praise and thanks belong
to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

I would like to express my thanks and appreciation firstly to my parents for their unwavering
love and support throughout my life. With love and sincere appreciation to my beloved family
and friends.

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all lecturers and staff in the mechanical and
maintenance engineering department (particularly to the department's head, Dr. Michael A.
Conteh) and Dr. David Sengeh, for their unflinching encouragement and support throughout my
project writing.

I'm particularly grateful to Alusine Tommy, Abdallah S. Koroma, and the Koroma Family,
Augustus Batilo Jibba, Alimany Sesay Conteh, Alfred Sahr Sellu for their unwavering support
and assistance. This dissertation would not have been possible without your direction and
constant assistance.

To all my colleague’s students from the class of 2021, thank you for your understanding and
encouragement in my academic work. It has been an amazing five(5) years, Thank You for
sharing the experience with me.

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 Declaration

This work is presented to the Department of Mechanical and Maintenance Engineering at the
Fourah Bay College University of Sierra Leone under the guidance of Dr. Moinina David
Sengeh, in partial fulfillment of the bachelor of engineering degree. This study has not been
published or submitted to a university or other higher education institution. All of the data used
is backed up by references and acknowledged

Mohamed Amara, 37243

Signature………………………………………… Date:...........

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 Certification

This is to certify that I, Mohamed Amara, with Registration Number 37243, has within several
completed this Dissertation under the supervision of Dr. Moinina David Sengeh, and I hereby
certify that the content of this dissertation is original and where other sources have been used as
part of the work credit has been given to the author (s), editor and proper referencing has been
done. I, therefore, approve of its submission to the Department of Mechanical & Maintenance,
Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.

………………………………….. ……......................

Supervisor: Dr. Moinina David Sengeh Date

………………………………………. …………………

Head of Department: Dr. Michael A. Conteh Date

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER 1 ONE (INTRODUCTION) 1

1.1 Background 1
1.2 Problem Statement 2
1.3 Aim and Objective 3
1.4 Research Benefits 3
1.5 Methodology 3
1.5.1 Phase one 4
1.5.2 Phase two 4
1.5.3 Phase three 4
1.6 Dissertation Layout 4

CHAPTER 2 TWO 5

LITERATURE REVIEW 5
2.1 Previous Work 5
2.2 Maintenance 6
2.2.1 Preventive maintenance 7
2.2.1.1 Periodic maintenance 8
2.2.1.2 Predictive Maintenance (PdM) 9
2.2.2 Corrective (Reactive) Maintenance 9
2.3 Maintenance Management 9
2.4 Maintenance work order management 10
2.4.1 Work Order 10
2.4.1.1 Task Identified 11
2.4.1.2 Maintenance Request 12
2.4.1.3 The work order is prioritized and scheduled 12
2.4.1.4 The work is assigned and completed 12
2.4.1.5 The work order is closed and documented 12

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 2.4.1.6: The work order is analyzed or reworked 13
2.5 Computer Maintenance Management System 13
2.6 CMMS MODULES 14
2.7 Role of Software Engineering and Internet of Things(IoT) In Maintenance 15

CHAPTER THREE 17

METHODOLOGY 17
3.1 The design overview 17
3.2 Need Analysis Phase 18
3.2.1 Data Collection 18
3.2.1 Data Analysis 20
3.2 CMMS Conceptual Model Production 24
3.2.1 Roles 25
3.2.1.1 Maintenance Supervisors 25
3.2.1.2 Maintenance Engineers 25
3.2.1.3 Maintenance Technicians 26
3.2.1.4 Maintenance Operators 26
3.3 Design Construction Phase 26
3.3.1 Flutter 27
3.3.2 Dart 27
3.3.3 Firebase 27
3.3.4 Cloud Firestore 28
3.3.5 Visual Studio Code 28
3.4 The Proposed Design 28

CHAPTER FOUR 29

FINDINGS 29
4.1 Introduction 29
4.1 Security System 30
4.1.1 Register User 31
4.1.1 Login In User 32
4.2 Main Page 33

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 4.2.1 Work Order Pages 35
4.2.2 Work Request Page 36
4.2.3 Asset Pages 38
4.2.4 Location Pages 38
4.2.5 Team Pages 40
4.2.5 Report Page 40
4.3 Database 42
5.1 Conclusion 43
5.2 Recommendations 43

References 44

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 45

CHAPTER 1 ONE (INTRODUCTION)

1.1 Background

Machines have become an integral part of human development and with the increase in
technologies to improve our lives, from automated mega industries to the vehicles that transport
us around, humans are becoming more and more reliant on machines for everyday activities.
Machines just like anything else depreciate with time, so for instance to maximize productivity
industries must ensure that machines are kept in good working conditions. If an unplanned
breakdown occurs, responses are immediate and the repair is done in record timing.

Since the advent of computers and programming languages, people are solving complex
problems with “simple” approaches. The programming of computer software that can be
integrated with sensors and other devices to gather and evaluate data has brought about the
possibility of not just immediately reacting to maintenance but predicting a maintenance activity

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before it even occurs. The age of machines as it is referred to by some is demanding “Smart
Machines or Smart Systems”. that can simplify the engineering approach

The design of a software system that allows users to build databases is one of the main
improvements to the maintenance system. A computerized Maintenance Management
System(CMMS) is a software package that maintains a computer database of information about
an organization’s maintenance operations, CMMS is used to automate maintenance
documentation like equipment planning, inventory management, corrective and preventive
maintenance procedures, spare parts controls, etc. CMMS systems have seen a lot of use cases,
one notable is the use of CMMS to manage hospital instruments, the need to keep machines
operational in hospitals cannot be overstated. The growth of global competition caused
remarkable changes in the way of production operation and process, hence more demand on
machines that can operate “without failure”. CMMS ensure efficiency and productivity in the
machine life by predicting machine breakdown and if there is a breakdown restoring the machine
to operation in record time

CMMS software is a versatile tool and can be used in any maintenance infrastructure that has a
maintenance strategy. Most companies in developing countries still depend on ineffective
maintenance strategies if there is any to start with. CMMS is mostly built upon the work order
maintenance strategy that is very effective and easy to introduce. CMMS is very effective in the
transfer of documents from the field to the managerial officer creating a fast response time to a
maintenance request as compared to previous manual methods. CMMS can also be used for
preventive/inspection maintenance planning and work order planning

1.2 Problem Statement

CMMS is built on top of work orders for improved data management. Work Order When
managed properly gives your team the stability and structure it needs to be efficient. A well-built
CMMS and work order process makes it easier to establish a preventive maintenance
program and react to unplanned maintenance. If CMMS is effectively implemented, a power
company for example can be saved from losing millions of dollars to downtime, or even better,

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life or lives can be saved in a medical scenario. With the rise in technology to meet this demand
every company can leverage the power of CMMS software.

One of the main problems with maintenance in developing countries is the lack of resources to
aid in the maintenance activities. With the demand on companies for productivity, machines must
remain in operational condition. Since CMMS are amazing at data collection and evaluation this
data can be modified to build a predictive model to predict maintenance activity before it occurs
giving companies the advantage of planning or preventing machine breakdown.

1.3 Aim and Objective

1. Build a CMMS web and mobile application for companies in need of maintenance.

2. Building a reliability model to predict machine breakdown

3. Include Preventive Maintenance strategy in the Application for technicians

4. The research will pave the way to introduce a discipline engineering application culture in a
way of abiding by the dictates of the Work Order system.

5. CMMS can be used to evaluate performance in industries and to highlight critical points which
are to be adhered to for successful implementation

1.4 Research Benefits

CMMS if implemented properly can optimize maintenance in any company and solve the
problem of downtime due to unplanned maintenance strategy, can store data that can be used for
future reference, or better yet data stored on assets can be used to build a predictive model to
predict asset breakdown before it happens. Can greatly help in monitoring progress reports, staff,
and work and can promote accountability when there is a lack of maintenance.

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1.5 Methodology

To obtain the objectives, three phases of work must be fulfilled. The first phase is developing a
maintenance management system, the second phase is designing a computerized system and the
third phase is evaluating the system.

1.5.1 Phase one

Introducing industries or hospitals maintenance systems to the Work Order maintenance strategy,
collecting data on their present maintenance system, analyzing the data, and finding ways to
improve their maintenance system

1.5.2 Phase two

Developing the software with Flutter

1.5.3 Phase three

After the software have deployed, the data collected will be used to develop a predictive model
for industries

1.6 Dissertation Layout

● Chapter One (Introduction): Gives an overview of the subject matter whilst establishing
the need for the research.
● Chapter Two (Literatur Review): This chapter presents previous research on CMMS, a
brief review of the CMMS architecture.
● Chapter Three (Methodology): This chapter explains the methods used in the research to
obtain the design objectives.
● Chapter Four (Findings): This chapter explains the obtained results and provides a full
discussion to clarify and express the obtained results.
● Chapter Five (Conclusions): Discuss results presented in the previous chapter.

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 CHAPTER 2 TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Previous Work

(Michael Wienker, Ken Henderson, Jacques Volkerts, 2016) in their article ‘The Computerized
Maintenance Management System an Essential Tool for World-Class Maintenance’ said “The
management of maintenance in a large industrial operation is complex and has a significant
impact on the profitability of the business. Managing this process effectively without
computer-based support is almost impossible” even though their paper was focused on
understanding the reasons behind the low success rate achieved and outlines the essential
elements that must be included to ensure a disciplined and well-resourced program that can
deliver success.

(Jasiulewicz-Kaczmarek, Małgorzata & Piechowski, Mariusz & Piotr, Szafer. 2017) worked on
the “Improvement Maintenance Processes through CMMS System-Case study”. In their work,
they mentioned how “these systems have undergone significant transformations. When
implemented, these systems allow optimization in areas of stockholding, parts and materials
management, procurement, external services, and maintenance and repair work”.

In their paper, they discussed the benefits of implementing one of the CMMS modules benefiting
from RFID technology in medical device manufacture. Part of their reporting compares historical
data between 2015-2016 and the following was noted.

1) Increase in efficiency of Maintenance employees:

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For example, 23% increment in task implementation, 29% of the actual execution time has been
saved, etc.

2) The automation of tasks resulted in intangible benefits in accounting for maintenance tasks:

Better values of MTTR, MTBR, MTBF, reduction in spare part replacement time, etc.

(McKinsey Digital, 2015) in his book (Industry 4.0) defines Industry 4.0 as the digitization of
the manufacturing sector, with embedded sensors in virtually all product components and
manufacturing equipment, ubiquitous cyber-physical systems, and analysis of all relevant data. It
is driven by four clusters of disruptive technologies. The first consists of data, computational
power, and connectivity – low-power, wide-area networks are one example. Analytics and
intelligence form the second, while human-machine interaction is the third, comprising, for
instance, touch interfaces and augmented reality. Digital-to-physical conversion is the fourth:
advanced robotics and 3D printing are two examples. All of these enablers are at a tipping point
today – now is the time for manufacturing companies to decide how to respond to them’. The
digitization of industries is largely due to the rapid advancement in computer technology.

2.2 Maintenance

“Maintenance is a routine and recurring activity of keeping a particular machine or facility at its
normal operating condition so that it can deliver its expected performance or service without
causing any loss of time on account of accidental damage or breakdown ” (Managing
Maintenance Resources- A. Kelly, Butterworth-Heinemann). Others like Gits(1992) have also
defined maintenance as “All activities that are intended to keep an item in, or return to, a decent
physical condition to meet the production function”.

Maintenance also means an activity to maintain or keep the facility and manufacturing
equipment, conducts required repair, adjustments, or replacements to obtain satisfactory
operating conditions of production as planned, (Assauri, 2004).

From the above definition, it is easy to see that Maintenance is about improving productivity, it
can help in the reduction of cost, better time management or even save lives, it all depends on the

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mandate of the company that needs maintenance, and I dare say every company that depends on
machines needs maintenance at some point, so it could provide some important benefits, like:

● Extend equipment lifespan and reduce the need for having to purchase new equipment.
● Prevent unplanned downtime which can be costly and interrupt the manufacturing
process.
● Avoid the need for expensive repairs due to negligence.
● Keep equipment running without interruption to ensure that projects get completed on
time and within budget.
● Ensure that systems are working efficiently to reduce energy consumption and operating
cost.
● Prevent small issues from growing into big problems that are time-consuming and costly
to fix since complex repair often comes with a bigger price tag and longer downtime.
● Increase the resale value of the equipment with a proper service record.
● Increase equity and borrowing power by upkeeping the value of your assets.
● Reduce injuries and fatalities, and therefore liability, due to faulty equipment.
● Maximize warranty coverage by having detailed service records to demonstrate that
maintenance is up to date.

2.2.1 Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance is maintenance and care activities carried out to prevent unexpected
damage and find conditions or circumstances that can cause production facilities to be damaged
(Ebrahimi et al., 2020). Preventive Maintenance according to Assauri(2004) is all activities to
prevent unexpected damage and find conditions that can cause such damage in the production
process.

The importance of preventive maintenance in facilities management cannot be overstated. A

successful preventative maintenance program aims to develop consistent procedures that
improve the operation and safety of your property's equipment.

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 ● Preventive maintenance will decrease business downtime and closures due to unexpected
equipment failures;
● Preventive maintenance will increase equipment life expectancy, so you’ll spend fewer
dollars in the long run;
● Preventive maintenance will ensure all equipment and employees work only during
scheduled hours, eliminating the need for paying overtime due to unexpected machinery
breakdowns, etc
● Preventive maintenance will significantly reduce safety risks for employees and
customers, thereby reducing the costly risk of lawsuits and workers’ comp.
● Preventive maintenance means less energy consumption for your assets and equipment
due to high levels of operational efficiency, which will reduce your utility bills.

There are different types of preventive maintenance but our studies will be mainly focused on
two:

2.2.1.1 Periodic maintenance

Periodic maintenance, often known as time-based maintenance, is carried out on assets at

predetermined times throughout the year. It could be done once a year, twice a quarter, once a
month, or once a week. Checking the manufacturer's guidelines is the simplest way to figure out
how often to upgrade asset pieces. Each piece of equipment comes with particular maintenance
instructions to help it last longer.

Examples of Periodic Maintenance:

● Cleaning corrosion

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 ● Checking to bear grease
● Changing lubricating oils
● Replacing filter components.

2.2.1.2 Predictive Maintenance (PdM)

Predictive Maintenance (PdM) is the "just right" answer for not overdoing or underdoing PM.
Sensor devices are used to monitor the condition of assets in this advanced maintenance
procedure. When a sensor detects a problem, a work order is automatically generated and
assigned to a technician in a CMMS.

In the long term, predictive maintenance plans can save organizations a lot of time, personnel,
and money. Emerging technology, on the other hand, isn't a good fit for most teams because of
expertise or sizable investment. However another type of preventive maintenance that is solely
based on reliability calculation on previous(historical data) asset data,

2.2.2 Corrective (Reactive) Maintenance

Corrective maintenance (CM) involves the replacement or repair of equipment after it fails. In
response to equipment failure, CM tasks identify the failure (it may be an equipment component
or equipment item) and rectify the failure so that the equipment can be reinstated and the facility
production restored. CM tasks are prioritized so that the high-priority tasks that may be
safety-related or affecting production are addressed first (Deighton 2016).

2.3 Maintenance Management

Maintenance management is defined as the process of maintaining the assets and resources of a
company, which has as its main objective to control and reduce costs, times, and resources. It
goes through the regular monitoring of the functioning of machines, equipment, facilities, and
tools. This management avoids, for example, production stoppages due to broken equipment and
waste of resources in inefficient maintenance processes (Value Keep). Maintenance management
is important to ensure the constant improvement of equipment performance, ensuring quality

17
operating within safe conditions for people and the environment (Jiang, 2015). In Most
Organisations, the Maintenance management function is centralized through the maintenance
manager who is responsible for all aspects of maintenance and support.

2.4 Maintenance work order management

The main tool in maintenance management is a great Work Order, simply creating a great work
order doesn’t guarantee success. That work order must also be managed properly. A solid system
for managing the lifecycle of a work order ensures it is passed smoothly from one step to the
next. This helps you avoid all sorts of problems, like a lack of accountability, high costs,
increased downtime, and crushing backlog. Let’s look at the pros and cons of a few work order
management systems and how they measure up. There are severe ways to implement the work
Order system

2.4.1 Work Order

A work order is a formal document (digital or paper) that describes maintenance work approved
for execution (i.e., an approved work request). Work requests can be submitted to maintenance
by any of their many types of customers and staff, depending on the type of business, industry,
and facility being managed. In addition, work orders provide details about the work to be
completed, such as location, skills requirements, and tools needed (UpKeep)

Figure 2.1: describes work order process flow

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Source: https://www.fiixsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/workd-order-process-flow.png

The Flow diagram briefly illustrates the Work Order Process from when the task is identified to
when the work order is analyzed or reworked, every maintenance work order has three main
phases in its lifecycle, Creation, Completion, and Recording

2.4.1.1 Task Identified

There are mainly two types of maintenance tasks, planned maintenance and unplanned
maintenance. Planned maintenance encompasses all jobs you know of ahead of time, like routine
inspections, and unplanned or reactive maintenance includes all the tasks you can’t foresee, like

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an unexpected breakdown.

2.4.1.2 Maintenance Request

When the task has been identified the next stage is to detail the job and submit it to the
maintenance team for further action, this normally passes through Management. For example,
when a machine breaks down, an operator creates a work request and submits it to maintenance.
If a task is planned, a work order is created and triggered at the proper time.

2.4.1.3 The work order is prioritized and scheduled

As mentioned, early maintenance can be reactive or planned. However some maintenance are
more time-sensitive than others, so it is left with management to prioritize work orders. After
prioritizing, it’s time to schedule. Work orders can be scheduled based on a set deadline, planned
maintenance triggers, or dedicated blocks of time. Setting a deadline keeps everyone accountable
and informed so nothing falls through the cracks.

2.4.1.4 The work is assigned and completed

It’s time to turn those words on a page into action. The work order is assigned to a technician,
who completes the task. This can be a five-minute check of equipment, or it can be a complex
repair job that takes several days.

2.4.1.5 The work order is closed and documented

Once all the terms of the work orders are completed, they can be closed. Managers may need to
sign off on the work order for compliance requirements. Once closed, the work order is filed

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away. A properly organized work order log is crucial for building asset histories, reviewing past
solutions, preparing for audits, and more.

2.4.1.6: The work order is analyzed or reworked

Closed work orders contain valuable information. They can provide insight into your processes
and systems that can be used to fine-tune your operation. Having a work order log also allows
technicians to quickly spot any missed steps or alternate solutions if an issue flares up again.

2.5 Computer Maintenance Management System

The implementation of Work Order has gone through several stages, but notwithstanding some
of the early methods are still implemented in companies because of some advantages, for
instance, the Paper and Pen are still used because of their cost-effectiveness and familiarity.
Paper is a tool everyone is comfortable with, it takes next to no training. However, this system is
not efficient as paper can be easily misfielded, lost, or damaged. They are cumbersome and take
time finding, retrieving, and sorting. Response time to work requests is also slower. similar to the
Pen and the paper the White Boards method also has a lot of limitations like difficulties in
keeping and retrieving records, this makes it impossible to create asset histories, prepare for
audits and build work order reports, also response time is slow as operators and technicians need
to go to the central location to submit or view work requests.

Excel spreadsheets are a step up from pen and paper and whiteboards. It makes records digital,
so files are less likely to be damaged or lost. It’s also easier to search for information and create
reports using this information. The main difficulty with this method is spreadsheets are locked
into single computers, which makes it difficult to see up-to-date information on a work order.
Even if they are cloud-based, spreadsheets can’t automatically trigger work orders, which makes
preventive maintenance extremely difficult to achieve. There’s also a limited ability to track the
progress of work orders, which leaves you a step behind

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CMMS has been in use since 1976. Today it is widely used in manufacturing plants all over the
world. Optimization of Maintenance activities has started to be facilitated since the companies
use the philosophy of World Class Manufacturing/Maintenance (WCM) or management
strategies associated with the implementation of CMMS. According to a survey conducted by
UpKeep(A CMMS support company), 78% of companies that use CMMS report an increase in
equipment life.

CMMS offers various maintenance functions, which are not just limited to manufacturing but
can also be applied to facilities, utilities, fleet, and various types of work organizations where the
asset maintenance patterns are influenced by what they do.

2.6 CMMS MODULES

Each CMMS product will have distinct features and different terms to identify entities, but the
basic functionalities are common to all (Senduk, 2018):

● EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT includes equipment details such as specifications,

locations, and maintenance history

● WORK MANAGEMENT, includes management of planned and unplanned work, PM’s,

job plans/tasks, resource scheduling, and posting utilization transactions

● PARTS INVENTORY MANAGEMENT, includes reserving, issuing, field returns,

where-used, and reorder information

● PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT includes requisitioning, purchase orders, supplier

information, store receiving, and warranty claims

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 ● LABOR/PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT, includes skills classification, pay rates,
training, and vacation schedules.

● REPORTING, the main output of the CMMS and its most important function. Canned
(packaged) reports are normally provided but can accommodate customized reports.

2.7 Role of Software Engineering and Internet of Things(IoT) In

Maintenance

Computers have come a long way since the first computer was built in the 19 century to calculate
an increasingly complex number-crunching challenge. It has radically changed the way we think
about everything from finance to engineering. Software tools which are a crucial part of
computers have been hugely involved in these changes.

Software Engineering is a branch of computer science that deals with the design,
implementation, and maintenance of complex computer programs (Merriam Dictionary). We live
in an era of technology and software has become a great part of our life. Smart devices in our
homes, cars, industries e.t.c from a Smart Network. The number of connected devices in 2021 is
about 46 billion (Nick G, 2021), this is where IoT comes in. IoT describes a network of physical
objects that have sensors, or software, embedded. This enables them to communicate and
exchange data. IoT will help in the smooth running of industries from anywhere in the world,
moreover, with the stream of sensory data that can be available on devices to aid in computation,
the dream of predictive breakdown before they happen can become a reality.

Figure 2.2: how useful the interconnection of devices are

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Source:

● https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/1051/1/012019/pdf

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 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 The design overview

The CMMS infrastructure is meant to optimize work performance and coordinate the flow of
information, the main component of a CMMS is Work Order Management. Based on the
research conducted in some industries and hospitals that use machines that require maintenance,
there is little or no WO implementation. So to effectively implement CMMS, there is a need to
introduce a WO Management strategy to companies. luckily enough, technology has evolved to
make such implementation easy, so instead of introducing the old Work Order methodology, we
will go straight to the best and most recent way of implementing work orders with CMMS
software (web, desktop, and mobile). One of the biggest advantages of CMMS is its use of
mobile and cloud technology. While CMMS Software is the way to the future, it comes with
costlier upfront prices, requires exceptional training and culture to make the system successful,
and often necessitates more advanced maintenance techniques. While CMMS software comes
with its flaws, the long-term benefits of the system more than makeup for any initial
shortcomings.

This kind of maintenance work order software allows everyone in maintenance to create, track,
complete, and analyze tasks in real-time. Technicians can bring work orders, asset histories,
documents, and images wherever they go. They are also notified of new work orders as soon as
they are submitted or triggered. Reports mine the data in maintenance work orders for cost,
efficiency, and other metrics. For those who don’t know the technicality of maintenance,
submitting a work request through a CMMS can give them a greater sense of ownership over that
work. They can track the status of their requests in real-time for example they can monitor where
the maintenance has begun or what is the holdup.

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3.2 Need Analysis Phase
This phase was mainly based on studying the previous system, identifying weaknesses, and
building a more robust system. The design concept will be based on the implementation of
CMMS in Electricity Power industries but the same principle can be applied to any company
needing maintenance. EGTC has many sites that operate on the same principle, this research was
carried out at the newly developed Charlotte Hydro Dam. It was chosen because it was recently
built meaning there must be a looking maintenance strategy in place, more important, they must
have a maintenance log on specific assets. The data collected aimed to build a machine learning
model to predict machine breakdown or its reliability and availability.

3.2.1 Data Collection

Unfortunately, the computer that was responsible for keeping tabs on the maintenance log was
broken, so all maintenance logs were taken manually by the machine operators. So the system
was back to a paper-based maintenance management system. The data was collected and
transformed into an excel format for visualization and analysis. Data was collected on the
different assets of the plant example Generator one, Turbine, etc., these data comprise of Asset
running time, Energy Generated, Planned Operational Hours, Breakdown time, cause of
breakdown, etc. these data go back three years and they are collected daily.

Figure 3.1: Assets data from Charlotte Hydro Dam

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Figure 3.2: Assets data from Charlotte Hydro Dam

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3.2.1 Data Analysis
Due to the enormity of this data, help is needed in analyzing it. To put it more clearly, you will
need the aid of a computer program to analyze such a large dataset.

There is a lot of programming tools data scientist use to analyze such data, for our data will be
using python, python is a very popular programming language for data scientist because of its
close resemblance to natural language in its syntax, it has popular packages (tools) that are very
useful in data analysis, Pandas one of pythons packages is very good in analyzing CSV, Excel
and other formats, for our used case the data was recorded in excel.

The necessary information needed for Reliability and Availability calculation and prediction is
total planned operational hours, the number of breakdowns, the total time it took to restore the

28
system, etc. these are the data we will be targeting when trying to extract data from the excel
sheet.

Figure 3.3: data analysis in visual studio code

Because of the inconsistency in the data recorded at the power station, it will be a little difficult
to implement predictive maintenance in our application. examples of such inconsistencies can be
seen in Figures 3.4 and 3.5 where for instance data is not provided for Generator Two in the
month of November 2019 and August 2020, again looking at figure 3.5, data was only collected
for the month of October 2019

Figure 3.4: Bar chart showing MTBF against month for Generator Two
(Charlotte hydro dam assets)

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Figure 3.5: Bar chart showing MTBF against month for Generator Two (Charlotte
hydro dam assets)

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3.2.2 Using Reliability to predict Asset Failure

Reliability engineering is an engineering discipline for applying scientific know-how to a

component, product, plant, or process to ensure that it performs its intended function, without
failure, for the required time duration in a specified environment (Kiran 2017).

λ(t)=Failure rate = Failures Per Unit Time Quantity Exposed

Failure rate(λ) = 1/MTBF

MTBF = Mean Time Between Failure

Reliability = R(t)= e−λt

Therefore

R(t)=e−(time/MTBF)

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e = Base of natural logarithms

MTBF(Mean Time Between Failure) is calculated by taking the total time an asset is running
(uptime) and dividing it by the number of breakdowns that happened over that same period.

The Application will constant be will record and evaluate the data that is responsible to calculate

the reliability of each asset.

3.2 CMMS Conceptual Model Production

Most electricity companies(for example EGTC) have a Maintenance Supervisor, Engineers,
technicians, and operators. We will build on the old maintenance pattern where all breakdowns
need to be addressed to the Maintenance Supervisor who is responsible to delegate tasks. The
basic theory of system maintenance is simple and useful enough to be applied, there are requests,
approval, plan, schedule, performing work, recording data, accounting for costs, developing
management information, updating equipment history, and providing management control
reports.

This application will be mostly focused on:

Request: Maintenance request can be done by anyone on the maintenance team, it will be done
using a mobile application that captures the image of the asset that has the issue or breakdown,
title and give a brief description about the nature of the issue or breakdown, asset name and
location can be added.

Approval: Maintenance Supervisors most handle request approval, the can most approve the
small request( low spending) however, the maintenance requires a large amount higher-level
management has to approve

Plan: The Maintenance supervisor is mostly involved in planning a maintenance activity, the
supervisor goes through the request, validates the calm, checks to see the availability of

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resources (parts and inventory), he(she) then makes the work order and assigns it to an individual
or team.

Scheduling Activity covers three factors:

● Priorities: How important is the task

● Job assignment: work assigned for maintenance technicians.
● Follow up: As a further measure to ensure that work is being conducted

Recording Data: Recording data is an important aspect of CMMS, data collected on assets will
help in further maintenance and preparation of work orders, data like how long it took to restore
assets, time of breakdown, etc

3.2.1 Roles
Delegating responsibilities among different types of workers strengthens an organization’s ability
to schedule more maintenance, improve schedule compliance, increase uptime, execute repairs
faster, and retain good talent.

3.2.1.1 Maintenance Supervisors

A maintenance planner makes sure technicians and engineers have everything they need—tools,
parts, documentation, etc—to perform scheduled work as efficiently as possible. They coordinate
with parts managers, maintenance managers, and other teammates to make this happen. They
also coordinate with managers from other departments like production to plan for site-wide
shutdowns. Depending on how large a facility is, there is either a separate maintenance scheduler
and maintenance planner, or a single maintenance worker that performs both planning and
scheduling functions.

3.2.1.2 Maintenance Engineers

A maintenance engineer is certified to perform repairs and rebuilds on specific types of
equipment. They also diagnose failures when equipment breaks down and help create preventive

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maintenance schedules. This combination of hands-on maintenance and maintenance strategy
requires them to work with both technicians and planners

3.2.1.3 Maintenance Technicians

A maintenance technician is the maintenance worker that performs the most hands-on work.
They perform preventive maintenance tasks (e.g. lubrication), emergency repairs (e.g. parts
replacements), and inspections. In some facilities, the maintenance technician is a “jack of all
trades” and works on many different types of equipment. However, they do not perform major
repairs and rebuilds. This work is either contracted out or assigned to a maintenance engineer.

3.2.1.4 Maintenance Operators

Maintenance operators are skilled technicians who use a variety of small equipment and tools to
perform and assist in the maintenance activities of a business establishment. These operators are
required to assist the equipment manager in preparing preventative maintenance procedures so
that they can increase productivity and reduce downtime of equipment.

3.3 Design Construction Phase

This is a two-system design, a mobile application for field works, and a web application for
admin and engineers in charge, The use of the mobile device for field workers is because it will
be counterproductive to get to a computer any time you need to access the system, moreover
mobiles can act as a camera to give a visual description of what the problem looks like, and the
application has been equipped with the sure facility since most people always carry a phone on
them, it will also be a very good notification system to remind the employee of their task.

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3.3.1 Flutter
Flutter is an open-source UI software development kit created by Google. It is used to develop
cross-platform applications for Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows, Google Fuchsia, and the
web from a single codebase. First described in 2015, Flutter was released in May 2017 (“Flutter
(software)”). Flutter will be mainly used for the front end development (graphical user interface)

3.3.2 Dart
Dart is a programming language designed for client development, such as for the web and
mobile apps. It is developed by Google and can also be used to build server and desktop
applications.

Dart is an object-oriented, class-based, garbage-collected language with C-style syntax. Dart can
compile to either native code or JavaScript. It supports interfaces, mixins, abstract classes, reified
generics, and type inference (Bak). Dart will be used for the backend logic of the application.

3.3.3 Firebase
Firebase is a development platform known originally for its real-time database that’s still at its
core a multi-node, key-value database optimized for synchronizing data, often between user
machines or smartphones, and centralized storage in the cloud. It’s designed to make life easier
for developers by handling much of the pushing and pulling of data. That relieves app developers
of the programming burdens associated with managing versions or locations. They can write the
new bits to Firebase and the data will be consistent throughout the system (Wayner). There are
several choices of databases, but Google’s Cloud FireStore gives you the ability to secure your
data almost to server-level without concerning yourself with the complexity of server
management

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3.3.4 Cloud Firestore

Firestore is a NoSQL, document-oriented database. Unlike a SQL database, there are no tables or
rows. Instead, you store data in documents, which are organized into collections. Each document
contains a set of key-value pairs. Firestore is optimized for storing large collections of small
documents. All documents must be stored in collections. Documents can contain subcollections
and nested objects, both of which can include primitive fields like strings or complex objects like
lists.

Collections and documents are created implicitly in Firestore. Simply assign data to a document
within a collection. If either the collection or document does not exist, Firestore creates it.

3.3.5 Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a source-code-editor made by Microsoft for Windows, Linux, and
macOS.Features include support for debugging, syntax highlighting, intelligent code collection,
snippets, code refactoring, and embedded Git.

3.4 The Proposed Design

The application is designed to give a different “look and feel” depending on the role of the user.
In principle the application has different forms for different tasks, the main interfaces of the
application are the work order, work request, assets, location, and inventory all of these will be
discussed further in chapter four(4). The admin is responsible for creating an account for a
company, he/she is also responsible to give different roles to the user, your experience on the
application depends on the role you are given, for example, the lead engineer can assign work
orders while an operator can’t.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

FINDINGS

4.1 Introduction

One of the biggest challenges with using the computerized maintenance management system to
tackle maintenance in developing countries is getting companies to ensure that the technology is
being used. Some of the reasons for designing a mobile application are that it's easy to use,
user-friendly, simple, and does not need special training as most people in the country are already
used to smartphones.

The Application was designed in a way to keep track of users and tasks assigned to users, so a
simple analysis can tell the company who is using the app, this data can help in getting
employees to use the app more frequently

37
The process helps to improve the inventory system and also reduce the paperwork and loss of
data in the maintenance management.

A work request is used by maintenance and non-maintenance staff to make the maintenance team
aware of a task. For example, a machine operator might submit a work request when equipment
breaks down. The work request is reviewed by a maintenance manager, who adds extra
information, schedules the task, and assigns it to a technician. The work request is now a work
order.

4.1 Security System

In order to gain access to this application, you have to be registered, you can either register a
company or an individual. To be registered as a company you have to provide: Admin Full
Name, Admin Email, Company Name, Company Address, Company Email(if available), and
Password, the password is for Users Data protection, The Company admin can add more users
and assigned roles to them(more about this later). When you register as an individual not all
facilities will be available to you.

Figure 3.1: Flow chart showing how assess the main page

38
4.1.1 Register User

Figure 3.2:

39
4.1.1 Login In User

Figure 3.3: login view from the app

40
To gain access to the application you will need to be signed in, you will need the email and
password you used to create your account. if you are signing in as a company you will need the
administrative email and password or if you were added by the admin your will need the default
password the admin gave you

4.2 Main Page

Figure 3.4: View of the main page

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The main page comprises several items, its default view page is the work order page, but you can
navigate to any other page you may like.

42
4.2.1 Work Order Pages
The Work order page has a table-like view for the admin who can see the amount of work order
assigned, the Engineer in charge can even check the status of the work order(open, on hold, in
progress, or completed). All details about the work order can be viewed on this page. The person
in charge of the work order will see a different page from the lead engineer. It also has a button
that can take you to the pages where the lead engineer can create a work order

Figure 3.5: View of the work order page

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4.2.2 Work Request Page
you can use the request page to view and create requests, almost anyone can create a work
request.

Figure 3.6: Adding work request to the database

44
you can use the mobile application to take a picture of a broken-down asset, with a description of
what might be the problem. The information in the diagram will be used by the Engineer in
charge to assign a work order or decline a request

45
4.2.3 Asset Pages

Keeps the list of all available assets, link to details about assets can be found on this page, there
is a link to create a new asset and also a button to toggle the asset on if it is working and if it’s
not. This data will later help in building predictive models for assets.

Figure 3.7: Reliability predictor page

4.2.4 Location Pages

Companies can add for instance site locations and builds on the site as sub-location. assets can be
added to locations to make navigating companies’ facilities easy and work orders can be
assigned to locations.

Figure 3.8: view of companies location and sub location

46
47
4.2.5 Team Pages
Team management is an important aspect of maintenance, this page allows the admin to add
users (employee), assign users to roles and teams, teams can be created

Figure 3.9: Team page

4.2.5 Report Page

This page gives a statistical overview of all activities on the application, examples are the
number of work orders assigned, number of work orders in progress, etc. This page is a great
assets for the admin

48
Figure 3.10: report dashboard show MPI(Maintenance Performance Indicator)

Figure 3.11: A show of the database

49
4.3 Database

This is where all users or company information is kept, Saving data in the cloud ensures
accessibility from anywhere in the world, it also adds another level of security to the data.

The database is a Non-SQL database that consists of documents of companies, assets, locations,
teams, work orders, etc.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

50
5.1 Conclusion
Surveys show that much Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)
implementations fail to deliver the projected benefits. Various reasons are stated, among them:
lack of management support, lack of stakeholder buy-in, insufficient resources, uncoordinated
implementation planning, and so forth. In such cases, a business-as-usual paradigm will prevail.
This is not a surprising revelation, as many IT implementation projects do not live up to
expectations; add to that the fact that management frequently views maintenance as a cost of
doing business, rather than an opportunity for operational excellence. In reality, maintenance is
an area where significant savings can be achieved. (Senduk, 2018 ). During my internship at
Charlotte Hydro Dam, I witnessed a total disregard for maintenance and downtime costs ( this is
a testimony, it should be in either introduction or literature review). This application is
attempting to improve maintenance in our industries but more importantly, share light on
negligence on the part of employees in terms of the total growth of industries and the importance
of machines in saving lives and improving the nation.

Incorporating technology in our industries is no easy process, it needs everyone to be involved.

This application has a great tool to improve productivity in industries, its ability to monitor usage
and action gives administrative heads the ability to take decisive decisions in improving work
order culture in our industries.

The data analysis from Charllote hydro dam shows a disregard for the accuracy of data in data
collection of staff, correct data leads to correct decisions, the application makes data collection
an easy process but employees need to show honesty in their data collection and the supervisors
also need to demand employee use the snap feature of the application to promote clarity.

5.2 Recommendations
CMMS software has a lot of functionality but because of time constraints few of those
functionalities were left out. As a recommendation.

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 ● To include assets purchase information, budgeting, and other financial maintenance
strategies.
● Indecisiveness has proven to be dangerous in maintenance, so the admin should use the
data proved by the application to take actions against those who are not using the
application or those who are not completing work orders, etc.
● The application can be used to save data that can be extremely useful in building a
machine or deep learning model in the

References
https://www.fiixsoftware.com/blog/work-order/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328968694_PRINCIPLES_OF_CMMS_IMPLEMENT
ATION

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:205356/FULLTEXT01.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705816004641
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hts/Industry%2040%20How%20to%20navigate%20digitization%20of%20the%20manufacturing
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dart_(programming_language)

52
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ough_CMMS_System-Case_study

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/912/reliability-oil-analysis

https://www.facilitiesnet.com/facilitiesmanagement/article/Maintenance-Measurement-and-Equi
pment-Reliability--17255#:~:text=MTBF%20is%20a%20basic%20measure,hours%20divided%
20by%2012%20failures.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315597657_Preventive_Maintenance_PM_planning_a_
review

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computerized_maintenance_management_system

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328968694_PRINCIPLES_OF_CMMS_IMPLEMENT
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https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/maintenance-management

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/corrective-maintenance

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diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:327871/FULLTEXT01.pdf

The Electricity Generation and Transmission Company(EGTC)

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CBM - Condition Based Maintenance

CM - Corrective Maintenance

CMMS - Computerised Maintenance Management System

MPI - Maintenance Performance Indicator

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MTBF - Mean time before failure

PDM - Predictive Maintenance

PM - Preventive Maintenance

POs- Purchase Orders

WOs - Work Order

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